Bradley University’s hospitality students and their on-campus organization Fresh Slice began a three-part event series this week to spread word about their program and opportunities in the hospitality industry.
“Hospitality is sort of an umbrella term,” hospitality professor David Olds said. “It can mean anything from hotel management to hosting in a restaurant to event planning.”
This year marks the fourth anniversary of the program finding a home at Bradley University, and as one of the newer programs, the department is seeking new ways to engage more students and show people the opportunities in the job market.
On Wednesday afternoon, students walking past Olin Quad were treated to free freeze pops and a chance to win pineapple koozies with the Fresh Slice club logo on it, as they held their first event of the series, the luau.
“The goal of all of this is to get more students interested,” Olds said. “Students don’t even have to be hospitality majors to benefit from our program.”
Each year, hospitality students participate in events and are offered opportunities like competing in cook-offs, attending lectures from guest chefs, touring various hotels and even attending national conventions.
The second part of the series took place Thursday in Bradley Hall. General Manager Dave Frazier of Valleyfair, an amusement park in Minnesota, discussed hospitality and how it relates to running America’s most prominent theme parks.
The final event will take place at 5:30 p.m. April 27 in East Peoria. Hospitality students and any other interested parties will be able to take a tour of the local Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites and learn more about the inner workings of a hotel.
For more information, visit the club’s Facebook page “BU Fresh Slice.”
